Fosun and Ardian €874 million acquisition of Club Méditerranée

Overview:

• Chinese investment company Fosun and Ardian completed the acquisition of holiday company Club Méditerranée for €874 million. 
• Gaillon Invest II, a special-purpose vehicle, was formed in order to make the bid on behalf of Fosun, French private equity group Ardian,Club Méditerranée's management, and U-Tour, a Chinese online travel agent.
• The final offer was made at €24.60 per share, which caused a rival bidder to withdraw from the race, in what was the Paris bourse’s longest-ever takeover battle. 
• Cleary Gottlieb advised Investindustrial, the private equity group run by Italian businessman Andrea Bonomi, with its €800m counter-bid for Club Med.
• This is Fosun’s largest investment in Europe to date. 
• Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Natixis and Société Générale acted as mandated lead arrangers. 

John Crabb - Journalist